The Green Belt Movement Blog

After Gordon Brown's speech of the UK government's Roadmap to Copenhagen, GBM's founder had this to say today:

I am pleased with the announcement by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the UK government and thank them for the leadership whereby they have proposed to set aside 100 Billion dollars per annum by 2020 so that poor countries can address climate change.

For sure the world will need a great deal of money, to adapt to the challenges of climate change: environmental disasters, food crisis, new diseases, and refugees.

I sincerely hope that other world leaders will also pledge their commitment to dealing with climate change in an equitable, just and responsible way.

Climate Change justice is important for Africa because she has emitted an almost negligible amount of carbon in the last 200 years of industrialisation, and yet scientists say she will be hardest hit by climate change.

It is the responsibility of industrialized countries to provide leadership and determine how the world deals with this crisis, which largely the legacy of industrialization and over-consumption of resources.

The negative effects of Climate Change will have possible devastating impacts on millions of people worldwide.

We know what to do, now is the time to do it.

On Thursday, May 21, 2009, Prof. Wangari Maathai was awarded Japan’s highest honor—the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun for her work promoting the Mottainai Campaign. The ceremony took place at the Japanese Ambassador’s residence in Nairobi, Kenya. It was wonderful to have an award of this caliber bestowed in Kenya so that GBM and friends could attend. So few of Prof’s awards have been given in Kenya and so it was special to have this one presented to her at home among friends.

The Japanese government granted her this award in recognition of her contribution to protecting the environment, raising the Japanese people’s awareness of environmental issues and in promoting Japanese environmental initiatives around the world. Prof played an immense role in the promotion of Japan’s environmental diplomacy through various activities, but in particular through the promotion of the Mottainai Campaign. She also was recognized for her involvement in the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in May 2008.

Watch Professor Maathai speak about Mottainai!

Prof Maathai first learnt about the Japanese concept of Mottainai during an interview with the senior editor of Mainichi Newspapers in 2005. This concept wonderfully articulated the idea of not wasting resources and using them with gratitude and respect. The message has been very well received by the Japanese public even as it continues to grow and expand around the world. In Japan, all sectors of society are involved in the campaign including: children, women’s organizations, politicians, musicians, corporations, teachers, media and financial institutions. The Mottainai concept also ties in well with the well known 3R campaign of Reuse, Reduce and Recycle.

In Kenya, GBM also adopted the Mottainai campaign around the elimination of waste plastic from the natural environment. Prof saw the linkage between the concept of Mottainai and the eyesore caused when plastic waste litters public spaces everywhere. Today, the GBM campaign in Kenya is growing and has been responsible for influencing policy changes around the production and use of very thin plastic materials. With climate change now at the top of most global agendas, the Mottainai Campaign has the opportunity to share a unique new message with the rest of the world.

It was interesting to hear the comments to newspaper articles that were published the day after Prof’s award was announced. It may have come as a surprise that Prof is so popular in Japan! One reader recalled a conversation he had with his professors in Japan who he said often have two questions for Kenyans they meet – “Who is the president of Kenya?” and “Do you know Wangari Maathai?”... I guess the Ambassador was right when he remarked at the ceremony that, “She is quite popular among the Japanese.” Arigato to the people of Japan for this amazing honor given to our Founder.

Read more about Professor Maathai’s work on the Mottainai Campaign!

The first Brazilian school Arboretum was recently planted at the Instituto Estadual de Educação São Jerônimo and dedicated to Professor Wangari Maathai. The Arboreto Escolar Wangari Maathai (Wangari Maathai School Arboretum) surrounds the school’s new soccer field and is located in the city of São Jerônimo, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. José Luiz Mattos, a teacher at the school, has led the effort behind its creation.




According to Professor Mattos, the main goal of the Arboretum is Environmental Education, which is something that the students and the larger community can benefit from. Lessons in the Arboretum stress the importance of preserving nature and cultivating connections between people and plants.

Students at the Instituto Estadual de Educação São Jerônimo will have the opportunity to learn about local trees as they work in the Arboretum. Some of the trees that are growing in the Arboretum include açoita cavalo, pau-brasil, and palmeira-de-leque.

The story of the Arboreto Escolar Wangari Maathai reminds us of how important it is to learn more about our local environment. Is there an Arboretum in your community? What types of trees do you find there?

On April 15, 18, 19 and 20th, CNN International will present a special program titled
REVEALED: Wangari Maathai.

Click here for more information & local times where you are.

If you miss it on air - or even if you don't, it can be seen in full on the CNN Revealed website from Wednesday the 15th.

A short promo is available now to whet your appetite!

Enjoy!

This guest blog is brought to us by Anna Collins who is currently interning at GBMI Europe office and is studying for her masters in Environment and Development at Kings College, London.

April 2nd 2009 saw the G20 come to London, and with them thousands of protestors descended on the city to make their voices heard. A variety of protests went on, ranging from the standard anti capitalism ones that follow these meetings round the world, to protests outside the London Carbon Exchange to bring the issue of climate change to the G20.

This is the protest I was at. On the 1st of April climate camp swooped into Bishopsgate (the busy road that runs outside the carbon exchange in London) and set up camp. When I say set up camp I really mean it, tents were put up, a vegetarian kitchen opened, samba bands started playing and workshops were run to educate people on the issues surrounding climate change and allow spaces for people to share ideas. There was even a composting toilet set up within 10 min of us being there. The atmosphere all day was one of a festival with people from a wide range of backgrounds and ages. From tiny babies to grandparents, we were all there, putting our message to the G20 that carbon trading will not fix climate change. We need a swift move to a low carbon economy and any new deal that came out of their talks needed to have the climate firmly at its heart.

Throughout the day we remained peaceful (which is probably why we received little media coverage) and even in the face of riot police tactics we responded by having a Cailigh (a traditional Celtic dance). We stayed till midnight, when we were forcefully cleared out, hoping that our message that nature does not do bail outs had not fallen on deaf ears.

So did we get what we wanted? In short, no! Climate change was the biggest loser of the G20 meeting, tacked on at the end- to be thought about later. This isn't good enough, our world needs action, our environment is at the centre of all that we do. We need to protect it and care for it, and climate change requires this action to be taken at a global level, now.

It’s hard to believe that April is already upon us. Time has passed so quickly since Prof’s last US tour in February when we traveled from Capitol Hill in DC to the Shrine Auditorium in LA… and here we are about to embark on another tour in just a few days!

April is always a big month for our GBM communities in Kenya because it’s the start of the long, rainy season when more trees are planted across the country than during any other time in the year. Literally, hundreds of thousands of trees, if not millions! Earth Day is also this month, when friends and families come together to celebrate the planet. What are you doing for Earth Day? Leave a comment below and let us know – we would love to hear your stories!

Here in the US, we are also preparing for the release of Prof’s new book titled The Challenge for Africa which will hit bookshelves nationwide on April 7th. The book tour will begin on April 9th in New York, then continue through eight more cities in eleven days before finishing in Los Angeles, California on April 22nd. Sometimes we get tired just looking at the schedule! :) There are many great events planned for Prof across the country to celebrate this much anticipated book, so be sure to check our Events page for locations near you… we hope to see you there!

People often ask me why I am looking so forward to reading this book and the answer is actually quite simple: it is a perspective on the future of Africa from an African woman who lives there today and willingly speaks the truth. She is critical and she is direct. She is passionate and she is steadfast. The beginning of one chapter reads: “Africa is a paradox. It is one of the richest continents on the planet, endowed with soil, precious stones and metals, forests, water, wildlife, soil, land agricultural products, and millions of people. Yet most Africans remain poor.” Why? What can really be done to change that? These are the questions that Prof asks herself and addresses in the pages of Challenge. Very powerful and inspiring!

So take a look at our online schedule in the Events page of this website & come hear Prof speak! Always a memorable experience.

GreenSpeak.TV says Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai is A Must See and an amazing documentary. And we have to agree!

Taking Root has been shown at a number of film festivals around the world. This moving documentary (not that we are biased!) tells the story of how GBM started and shows the events which lead to Wangari Maathai being awarded the Nobel Peace prize. It includes some fascinating archival footage of Kenya's history.

Taking Root has won a numerous film awards, including the 2008 Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award among many others.

Taking Root is set to be shown more widely in the US on PBS in April 2009. Check out also Facebook and Youtube. We hope to have a screening here in the UK too, later in 2009... watch this space!

Do you know what orphan crops are?
I personally did not know.
Then last December at the GBM Annual Programme Review in Nairobi one of the Project Officers, in her report, stressed the importance of encouraging the growing of orphan crops in the area she works, for the role they play in the regional food security.
We engaged in a discussion where this word came up many times and I became curious about this strange terminology.
Through my personal research I found out the following:

Orphan (or minor) crops, also referred to as neglected or lost crops, are those crops which are typically not traded internationally. They are crops of high economic value in developing countries, particularly in Africa. These crops include cereal crops (such as millet), legumes (cow pea, grass pea and bambara groundnut) and root crops (cassava and sweet potato). Although orphan crops are vital for the livelihood of millions of resource-poor Africans many of these crops have received little attention from crop breeders and research into them is lagging behind that of major crops.

I think this is a very interesting concept and I would like to share it with those GBM supporters that, like me, did not know about orphan crops.

Oh, happy day! It was a most amazing day yesterday when Americans went to the polls and “loudly” elected Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States. Words simply cannot describe the joy we feel at GBM! – just in August 2006, we were fortunate to host then-Senator Obama in a tree-planting ceremony in Uhuru Park.



Today, we went back to Uhuru Park to plant yet another tree for President-elect Obama. Yes, the tree he planted in 2006 is doing very well as you can see in the photos taken today. The new tree was planted with even greater enthusiasm – men, women, children and even a group of visiting Norwegian students joined in the celebrations.



As you can imagine, Kenyans just won’t stop celebrating! Today was even declared a public holiday to facilitate continued celebrations. A few of our friends from around the world have sent reflective messages, and on some occasions we have even been congratulated! What a moment in history.

Today, I was watching the news and a young boy (no older than 10 years old) was asked what he felt about the Obama victory… his response was for me a reflection of how deep the impact of this historical moment is. He said, “It is great that Barack Obama won the election. Maybe then I, too……” He could not finish his sentence before his words were chocked by tears. Enough said.

A good friend of GBM also described it as a collective weight that was lifted… a new day has come indeed.

Donatella and I joined seven other international NGOs in our office building in London to Stand Up Against Poverty on the 17th October.

We joined the global effort to campaign and stand up and take action against poverty between 17-19 October. This year over 100 million people stood up in more than 100 countries against poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals. First we sat and then stood together. We also took action by sending a letter to our local MP, Meg Hillier, asking the UK government to honor its commitments to the MDGs.

Turin, ITALY, 19th October 2008.

Last Sunday, the award-winning documentary 'Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai' by Lisa Merton & Alan Dater debuted in Europe at the 11th Environmental Film Festival in Turin, Italy.

Although not in Turin, I too watched the documentary on Friday evening and have had the privilege to be among the first in Europe to watch it.

I enjoyed this powerful documentary a lot, and through this well conceived film, I was, once more, inspired by the extraordinary life of Wangari Maathai and her fight for the environment.

If you have the chance, I would recommend watching it, and joining the Green Belt Movement in planting trees and saving our forests and their inhabitants.

NEW YORK, Sep 22, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Nobel Peace Prize laureates Al Gore and Wangari Maathai today called upon the United States to combat rapidly accelerating tropical deforestation as a central element in the fight against global poverty, climate change and international instability.

At a luncheon hosted by the Avoided Deforestation Partners, Former Vice President Gore joined Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement and 2004 Peace Prize winner, to emphasize the role deforestation plays in poverty, conflict and increasing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The Nobel laureates were joined by leaders from the environmental and development communities, who stressed the scientific and social importance of these resources to global well-being.

Full text at
Avoided Deforestation Partners Event

Founder of GBM and 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai today joined the Nobel Womens Initiative (NWI) delegation to Ethiopia, Sudan and Chad. The delegation which includes Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams and Activist/Actress Mia Farrow aims to support and encourage women in the region to continue their search for peace, particularly in Dafur. The delegation appealed to the President of Sudan to allow UN Resolution 1769 to be fully and rapidly implemented for the sake of the people of Sudan. In 2005, at the UN World Summit, an earlier resolution regarding the responsibility to protect was unanimously adopted, including by the Government of Sudan.

The Africa leg of the trip follows a week in Thailand, at the Thai-Burma border, where the delegation met with survivors of cyclone Nargis as well as women's groups and community organizations. We will have more about how NWI will add energy to these critical situations. Stay tuned. In the meantime, keep up with the mission on the NWI blog.

The Nobel Women's Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. Through the initiative the six women - representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa -bring their extraordinary experiences together in a united effort for peace with justice and equality.

For the past nine years enthusiasts have taken to the streets of London, and the river Thames, to participate in the London Triathlon. Many compete for the thrill of the race and others, like Rachel Carless, for the benefit of their chosen charity and the hope of raising funds for their cause. Rachel is dedicating her efforts this year towards raising £1500 for the Green Belt Movement.

Rachel will compete in the Olympic Distance Race: 1500m swim, 40km bike, and 10km run on 9th August. Recent training included completing the Southend Bike ride 59 miles in 5.5 hours, and her first open water swim using “polo front crawl”- swimming with your head above water to see where you are going!

Rachel says her motivation is “the Green Belt Movement does things that are very close to my heart, I’m an environmentalist by profession. I just love the things they achieve. It’s inspiring what Wangari Maathai has done, taking a simple idea of planting trees and creating these amazing social benefits.”

If you would like to support Rachel, and help her raise funds for GBM, you can do so easily by visiting her Just Giving site.

Wangari Maathai’s whirlwind visit to London in June included not only the launch of the Congo Basin Fund. The rest of the week was filled with various speaking engagements and media appearances including interviews with BBC Radio’s Woman’s Hour, the Independent Newspaper and CNN’s 'Revealed' program.

Two highlights from the week that deserve special mention were the Ashden Awards and the Tree Planting Ceremony.

The Ashden Awards for sustainable energy are presented to outstanding entrepreneurs from both the UK and around the globe who show dedication and ingenuity in developing alternate energy solutions. Prof Maathai was on hand to present awards to the international winners and give a short speech to conclude the presentation. An enjoyable good night was had by all with the Royal Geographical Society being a perfect location for such an event.

The other stand out event from the week, was the Tree Planting Ceremony at Spitalfields City Farm. To help commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the farm, Prof Maathai was invited to take part in a short tour of the farm and plant a tree in a new section of the farm. Contrary to the weather forecast it was a pleasant day which gave all involved a chance to get outside and enjoy a unique part of inner city London.

Ellesmere College became the first UK school to be a partner of the Green Belt Movement by supporting the “Monduli Green” project in Tanzania.

Friday, June 20th saw a great day of fundraising events at the Ellesmere College campus. Students took part in a sponsored walk, cooked and sold food from different parts of the world, dressed up in an array of dazzling costumes and took part in a talent show. Students showed off their musical and acting talents to an audience of parents, teachers and fellow students. There was a great buzz after the talent show with students, parents and teachers alike agreeing it would be great to go to Kenya and see the projects firsthand.

The support and enthusiasm for the Monduli Green project could be seen in the energy and motivation of the students. The project began after a year 6 student visited Kenya and wanted to do something for the children she saw. This idea has blossomed into the Monduli Green project with the help of Cathy Allen, English language teacher and co-ordinator for international students.

The Monduli Green project is supporting four people from Monduli in Tanzania to be trained at the GBM Sharing the Approach workshops Nairobi, Kenya. This training will allow them to be able to start their own tree planting projects in Tanzania as a part of GBM Pan-African programme, which shares our grass roots development approach across different regions in Africa and the world.

Thank you for the lovely welcome and hospitality GBM received at Ellesmere College. It’s now down to other schools in the UK and around the world to follow the steps of Ellesmere College and help GBM to support people in Africa to change their lives.

Guest blogger - Alex Baine

The Diocese of Salisbury in southern England is twinned with the Diocese of southern Sudan. In celebration of the visit of the Bishop of Sudan, the parishioners of the church of St. Lawrence in Stratford-sub-Castle near Salisbury arranged a fete and fundraiser to increase awareness of poverty in Africa and to raise money for children's education in Sudan.

The event coincided with a visit of Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Salisbury as part of the Salisbury International Festival.

My mother, Helen, who happens to be a big fan of Wangari Maathai, put together this flower display in the St. Lawrence's to celebrate Prof.'s life and work. The leaves at the bottom of the display are from fig trees; the pot just seen to the left of the photo is a seedling and the pot says "Kenya."

Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai saw a dream come true on Tuesday June 17th with the launch of the Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF). The fund will support projects that make the forest worth more, as a living resource, than it would be cut down.

In the presence of Prime Ministers Jens Stoltenberg of Norway and Gordon Brown or Britain, the multi-donor fund was launched by Ministers of Forests from the 10 Central African countries surrounding the forest ecosystem. Said Prof Maathai “it was an historic day. I know that for Africa and the globe, the Congo forest is not negotiable. We need to secure its survival if we ourselves are to survive”.

The two Prime Ministers each committed 50 million British Pounds (equivalent to 200 Million USD) to the Congo Basin Forest Fund. The initiative was launched in cooperation with the Commission for the Forests of Central Africa (COMIFAC) and the African Development Bank (ADB). The ADB will host the fund in Tunis.
The Congo Forest covers an area twice the size of France and is the second largest tropical forest in the world – home to more than 50 million people, 10,000 species of plants , 1000 species of birds and 400 species of mammals.

The Congo Basin Forest Fund will be run by a governing council chaired by Professor Wangari Maathai - Nobel Peace Laureate and goodwill ambassador for the Congo Basin Forest, and the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin - former Prime Minister of Canada. To learn more about this exciting initiative, please visit www.cbf-fund.org

Today people around the world will be celebrating Earth Day together - a day aimed at inspiring awareness, appreciation and action for our planet Earth.

Why not join the Green Belt Movement's growing international network today by signing up to our facebook group. Here you can join discussions, access photos and videos, share your ideas and make friends with fellow environmentalists and GBM supporters.

We now also have our own GBM channel on YouTube. Subscribe to see videos of Wangari Maathai and GBM.

Happy Earth Day!

Today Prof. Maathai on behalf of all Kenyans, presented to the former United Nations Secretary General, H.E. Kofi Annan a gift of appreciation towards his efforts in spearheading the peace process in Kenya.

Prof Maathai expressed her deep gratitude, pleasure and humility to H.E. Koffi Annan and through him to the other members of the Panel of Eminent African Personalities namely, Madam Graça Machel, H. E Benjamin Mkapa and Honorable Oluyeni Adeniji who continues the work that started some months ago.

She acknowledged the complex and sensitive mission that Koffi Annan and his team undertook. She said "We lost so much as a country – many lives were lost and thousands displaced. Today, most Kenyans are ready to begin the business of healing this nation and we want you to know that we shall remain for ever grateful for you and your team.

Today we celebrate your efforts and those of your fellow panelists and want to express our deepest appreciation for restoring our hope in our country and giving us back a sense of pride.

It is therefore my pleasure to present this small gift to you as a token of our appreciation and on behalf of all the many Kenyans who may never be able to thank you in person. May it always remind you of the deep appreciation Kenya will always attach to your person. You will always be part of our history."